lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

328Food is so enjoyedin Myanmarthat standardgreetings tofriends andforeigners includesar pyi bi lar?(have you eatenyour lunch yet?)and bar hìn ne sarle? (what currydid you have forlunch?).Eating inMyanmar (Burma)Burmese food suffers from a bad rap – a rather unjustified bad rap inour opinion. While Burmese food can be somewhat oily, and lacks thediversity of cuisine in neighbouring Thailand, with a bit of advice andbackground knowledge we’re confident you’ll return from Myanmar havingsavoured some truly tasty and memorable meals.A Burmese MealT’ămìn (rice), also written as htamin, is the core of any Burmese meal.Rice is served with a variety of dishes that characterise Burmese cuisine,a unique blend of Burmese, Mon, Indian and Chinese influences. Thesedishes use a variety of local, largely plant- and seafood-based ingredients,and as with other Southeast Asian cuisines, an effort is made to balancethe four primary flavours: sour, salty, spicy and bitter.Although these foundations are relatively simple, one of the pleasures ofeating an authentic Burmese meal is the sheer variety of dishes at a singlesetting, something that rivals even Thai food. Upon arriving at any Myanmasaa thauk sain (Burmese restaurant), and having chosen a curry (seebox, p 329 ), fried dish or salad, a succession of side dishes will follow. One ofthese side dishes is invariably soup, either an Indian-influenced peh-hìn-ye(lentil soup, or dhal), studded with chunks of vegetables, or a tart leaf-basedhìn-jo (sour soup). A tray of fresh and par-boiled vegetables and herbs isanother common side dish; they’re eaten with various dips, ranging fromngăpí ye (a watery, fishy dip) to balachaung (a dry, pungent combinationof chillies, garlic and dried shrimp fried in oil). Additional vegetable-basedside dishes, unlimited green tea and a dessert of pickled tea leaves andchunks of jaggery (palm sugar) are also usually included.Good Yangon restaurants at which to experience this type of Burmesedining include Aung Thukha (p 60 ), Feel Myanmar Food (p 58 ) and DanuphyuDaw Saw Yee Myanma Restaurant (p 58 ).Burmese SpecialitiesOne of the culinary highlights of Burmese food is undoubtedly ăthouq q –light, tart and spicy salads made with raw vegetables or fruit tossedwith lime juice, onions, peanuts, roasted chickpea powder and chillies.Among the most exquisite are maji-yweq thouq, made with tender youngtamarind leaves, and shauq-thi dhouq, made with a type of indigenouslemon. Shwe Mei Tha Su (p 59 ) in Yangon does an excellent take on thelatter. In fact, the Burmese will make just about anything into a salad, ast’ămìn dhouq, a savoury salad made with rice, and nangyi dhouq, a saladmade with thick rice noodles, prove.A popular finish to Burmese meals and possibly the most infamousBurmese dish of all is leq-p’eq (often spelled laphet), fermented green